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Participant Materials (Login Required): Attendee List, Presentations |
Pre-Conference Events Sunday Sept 29th
Pre-Conference Events Sunday Sept 29th | |
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Registration Sign-in/Continental Breakfast for Fundamentals Course Registration for the Fundamentals Course attendees. |
7:30 AM - 8:00AM |
Fundamentals of Planning and Design of Animal Research Facilities
What you will learn: Who should attend: Space is limited and enrollment is subject to approval. Cost: |
8:00AM - 4:30PM |
Speaker Orientation Meeting & Dinner This meeting is intended for presenters only, and is a critical part of the Tradeline program. Your group will be given last minute information on the audience and their special questions as well as project information relative to this topic. Also covered will be conference protocol and audio-visual equipment for presenters, as well as details on the conference schedule. Speakers will receive a full set of conference materials at this time. Advanced RSVP Required |
5:45PM - 7:30PM |
Hosted Welcome Reception (Guests Welcome) A hosted beer and wine bar along with light snacks will be served. Attendees may sign-in and pick up their registration materials here, or the next morning at the conference ballroom foyer. Guests welcome. |
7:30PM - 8:30PM |
Monday, Sept 30th
Monday, Sept 30th | |
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Registration Sign-in/Continental Breakfast |
8:00AM - 8:30AM |
Exhibit Booths Open |
8:00AM - 5:45PM |
Plenary Sessions | 8:30AM - 9:30AM |
Maximizing “Plan B”: Bridging the gap to new animal facilities
Demand for animal space is spiking now. When “new building” dreams are put on hold, what quick-turnaround options can deliver the capacity that expanding programs need? Ron Wilson and Duncan McIlvaine illustrate opportunities, decision making criteria, and tradeoffs for densification and capacity increase strategies at Penn State College of Medicine. They examine cascading impacts to consider, short-term and long-term solutions, pain points, and what is working. They detail space conversions, equipment and infrastructure requirements, design and operating considerations, and development of a strategic renovation plan. |
8:40AM - 9:05AM |
Cage wash staffing benchmarks: How does your operation stack up?
How many cage wash staff are needed to support an animal facility with a given census? What equipment upgrades and operational changes were perceived to most improve injury rates, staff retention, and washing capacity to support expanding institutional rodent census? Nirah Shomer and Bruce Kennedy present survey results and metrics on the current state of cage wash facilities including data on staffing numbers and models, workload, types and numbers of washing equipment, the biggest bottlenecks and barriers to smooth operations, and efficiency-minded upgrade and renovation trends from the last five years. Don’t miss this opportunity to benchmark your cagewash operations against industry leaders. |
9:05AM - 9:30AM |
Refreshment Break | 9:35AM - 9:55AM |
Plenary Sessions | 9:55AM - 10:50AM |
Strategies for boosting workforce engagement, job satisfaction, and productivity in the lean vivarium
Lean vivarium operations depend on engaged, enthusiastic, and efficiency-minded employees -- and many organizations took a big hit on that front during the pandemic. Here you’ll see how Massachusetts General Hospital is bouncing back, building morale, and returning to the business of improving vivarium space use and efficient workflows. Gerry Cronin and Steven LaMacchia set out findings from MGH and the Vivarium Operational Excellence Network for turning the tedium of husbandry into fun team-based activities, engaging front-line workers in daily problem solving, and navigating a multi-generational workforce. They chart the improvements over the last three years in terms of job satisfaction, productivity, and process improvement. |
9:55AM - 10:20AM |
High-ROI facility upgrades for staff wellbeing, research quality, and retention
Vivarium upgrades aimed at improving employee engagement and wellbeing don’t have to break the bank; moderate investments in space, design, and infrastructure can yield big impacts. Sally Thompson-Iritani chronicles how UW and other organizations have worked to support “compassionate resiliency” in vivarium space interventions emphasizing the human wellbeing impacts on research quality and worker retention. She illustrates steps taken to ease mental fatigue, create spaces for collaboration and program development, and improve the physical environment’s ability to respond to the highs and lows of the human/animal bond. She scopes out what’s required in terms of time, effort, and budget. |
10:25AM - 10:50AM |
Refreshment Break | 10:55AM - 11:10AM |
Concurrent Sessions | 11:10AM - 12:05PM |
Hosted Lunch | 12:05PM - 1:05PM |
Lunch Hosted by Strobic Air Technologies Lunch hosted by Strobic Air Technologies |
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Concurrent Sessions | 1:10PM - 2:05PM |
Refreshment Break | 2:05PM - 2:20PM |
Concurrent Sessions | 2:20PM - 3:15PM |
Refreshment Break | 3:15PM - 3:45PM |
Plenary Sessions | 3:45PM - 4:40PM |
LED lighting for vivaria: Should you make the switch?
The Jackson Laboratory made the decision to adopt LED lighting in their Ellsworth barrier facility during the final phases of construction. Here you’ll see what had changed from initial project conception to drive that decision, and key considerations for design, construction, implementation, and validation going forward. Norm Burdzel and Karen Murphy examine how to evaluate LED technology’s impact on animal welfare, equipment selection and control strategy considerations, and what’s to be gained in terms of life cycle cost savings and energy efficiency. |
3:45PM - 4:10PM |
Next-generation multispecies NHP research complex raises the bar for welfare, capacity, efficiency
The newest NHP breeding/holding complex at Texas Biomedical Research Institute exemplifies the latest solutions for regulatory compliance, animal and worker welfare, space utilization, flexibility and operating efficiencies. Mike Merz and Blake Harrington discuss the highly collaborative undertaking that tapped the expertise of national project professionals, as well as the over 70 years of NHP experience on this Texas research campus. How did big issues such as the national shortage of animal models in testing diagnostics, therapies and vaccines translate into scope and budget decisions – all while new opportunities for innovation were being identified? They profile cutting-edge advances in enrichment and resiliency, as well as the ability to partner with outside organizations for research programs and operations funding. |
4:15PM - 4:45PM |
Reception | 4:45PM - 5:45PM |
Reception Hosted by Siemens (Guests Welcome) Reception hosted by Siemens (Guests welcome) |
4:45PM - 5:45PM |
Tuesday, Oct 1st
Tuesday, Oct 1st | |
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Exhibit Booths Open |
7:15AM - 3:40PM |
Hosted Breakfast Courtesy of Tradeline |
7:15AM - 8:00AM |
Concurrent Sessions | 8:05AM - 9:00AM |
Refreshment Break | 9:00AM - 9:15AM |
Plenary Sessions | 9:15AM - 10:10AM |
Resiliency put to the test: Facility design, equipment, and preparedness findings
In 2023 Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Comparative Medicine experienced the most severe flooding events in the program’s history, prompting an immediate, multifaceted response to protect animals, staff, and the future of critical research endeavors. Renee Thompson and Mary Spencer deliver lessons learned and recommendations that will equip other organizations to prevent, prepare, mitigate, and respond efficiently to emergencies. They identify critical facility design elements that saved the day, and the equipment, storage, and swing space needs to plan for. They detail innovative processes, operational and administrative measures to put in place for disaster management and research impact mitigation. |
9:15AM - 9:40AM |
Findings on ABSL-3 facility utilization and program adaptability
Repurposing underutilized ABSL-3 space is an attractive option for creating industry partnerships and increasing revenue, but there are easily overlooked facility, equipment, and operating requirements that will determine success. Hannah Walker sets out University of Georgia’s lessons learned on real-world facility adaptability from retrofitting an ABSL-3 lab for industry use including findings on construction, utilities, sample handling, and space allocations for anterooms and showers. She illustrates what an all-in cost/benefit analysis looks like factoring in capital and operating costs, and when this type of initiative actually makes sense for all stakeholders. |
9:45AM - 10:10AM |
Refreshment Break | 10:10AM - 10:35AM |
Concurrent Sessions | 10:35AM - 11:30AM |
Refreshment Break | 11:30AM - 11:45AM |
Concurrent Sessions | 11:45AM - 12:40PM |
Hosted Lunch | 12:40PM - 1:40PM |
Concurrent Sessions | 1:45PM - 2:40PM |
Refreshment Break | 2:40PM - 2:55PM |
Concluding Session | 2:55PM - 3:40PM |
Town Hall Knowledge Roundup
This end-of-day session is where key ideas, new developments, and findings that have been revealed over the course of the entire two-day conference (including sessions you may have missed) get clarified, expanded upon, and affirmed or debated. This is also the opportunity to get answers from industry leaders and the entire audience to specific questions on key and challenging issues. |
2:55PM - 3:40PM |
Conference Adjourns | 3:40PM |